Global Biz

S Korea's unemployment rate drops most in OECD

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-10-14 13:33

SEOUL - South Korea's unemployment rate reported the sharpest fall among member countries of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in August, a report showed Thursday.

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The OECD report said South Korea's jobless rate in August stood at 3.4 percent, down 0.3 percentage point from the previous month. South Korea had the biggest drop, along with Sweden, among the 24 countries checked.

Australia, Hungary and Italy posted their unemployment rates fall by 0.2 percentage point from July, followed by 0.1 percentage point declines in Denmark, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands and Portugal.

Countries like Spain, Canada, France and the United States saw increases in their unemployment rates, indicating their unemployment problem remains a lingering challenge.

The report also showed that among the 24 countries, South Korea 's unemployment rate was the lowest with Australia and the Netherlands coming in second and third with 4.3 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively. Spain scored the highest unemployment rate with 20.5 percent.

South Korea's steep monthly drop in its unemployment rate was largely due to robust exports and business investments that produced more job opportunities.

"Last year's rapid economic recovery is gradually being reflected in employment," an official from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance told local media.